Developer in for fight on Worcester project

A Marlboro-based developer is resurrecting plans to redevelop a 20-acre parcel off Randolph Road, near Dodge Park.

But a city councilor said the city has made a commitment to the residents in the Burncoat/Lincoln area to preserve the property as open space and intends to fight for that preservation.

Burncoat Development LLC will be presenting a preliminary subdivision plan to the Planning Board tomorrow night in which it is proposing a 50-lot subdivision for single-family homes at 31 Randolph Road.

The area, which is zoned RS-7 (residential, single-family) and BG-3.0 (business, general), is bounded by Dodge Park and Randolph Road to the north, Burncoat Street to the east, Clearview Avenue to the south and Barber Avenue to the west.

A public meeting will be held on the preliminary subdivision plan at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Levi Lincoln Chamber at City Hall.

Preliminary subdivision plans are not required for housing subdivisions. Through the process, however, developers seek feedback from the Planning Board and various city departments on their plans.

That input is then used by the developer in the preparation of more detailed definitive subdivision plans.

The 20-acre area has been targeted for housing development for nearly three decades, but for various reasons the projects have never gotten off the ground.

There were development proposals for the parcel back as far back as 1986-87. The Planning Board approved a 68-lot housing subdivision plan for the parcel in 1992 and the state Department of Environmental Protection also issued an order allowing the project to go forward in 1994.

But the plans never moved forward after the developer withdrew a “notice of intent” petition that had been filed with the Conservation Commission for the project. Neighborhood residents who had been fighting the project argued that the development site had more than 5,000 square feet of wetlands.

Since 2004, development plans for the property have languished.

District 2 City Councilor Philip P. Palmieri said he has been working with City Manager Michael V. O'Brien, U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray and state Rep. James O'Day, D-West Boylston, about getting money so the city could acquire the property and keep it as open space.

He said he is still working with all those individuals on getting the money.

“The city has made a commitment to the people in the Burncoat/Lincoln area to preserve this area as open space and compliment Dodge Park,” Mr. Palmieri said last night. “This property has many issues that are not suitable for a housing development of this magnitude. The land itself has are issues heavy slopes and wetlands and it is in a watershed area.

“If they are allowed to build 50 houses there, then you would create a host of traffic and infrastructure issues as well,” he said. “It should remain as open space. We will be very pro-active in our approach to discussing this with the Planning Board. I believe the neighborhood will be completely energized about this like it was several years ago”

Mr. Palmieri also pointed out that the property has been virtually clear-cut because of the Asian longhorned beetle infestation in that part of the city.

He said the federal government paid for that work and in the process made the property more attractive for redevelopment.